MY Little Peanut and the peanut

In January Sam got pneumonia in the upper lobe of his right lung. They treated it and all was well, except he still had a lingering cough and was wheezing more and more when he would play. When I would listen to his lung sounds there was little to no breath sounds in the entire right lung. We took him back to the Dr., they said it was probably asthma and we started doing nebulizer treatments three times a day. After months of treatment I was still not hearing and increase in breath sounds and took him back again and again and again. After being blown off as a crazy over protective mother with a stethoscope they finally took me seriously and ordered a chest fluoroscopy (like a chest x ray video so they can watch the lung expand) We scheduled it at the Primary Children’s at Riverton. It was shocking. When the image came up my heart sank. Even with him screaming his guts out with three people holding him down, his right lung did nothing. There was no air going in at all, but there was air in there that could not get out. They told me to wait in the waiting room while they called our pediatrician. Before I know it a surgeon was calling me telling me to bring him straight to Primary Children’s same day surgery to be prepped. Before I even made it home to call Keith, an anesthesiologist, same day surgery, our pediatrician, and another surgeon were calling me. It was a crazy and over whelming time. We got him up there, all checked in, dressed in his itty bitty hospital gown, and played in pre op waiting for an open OR. Note to self Versed and Sam don’t mix. They gave it to him about 20 minutes before they took him back to calm him and decrease the anxiety of a stranger taking him away from his parents. Yah, not what happened, it made him angry and freak out. We walked down to the OR with the anesthesiologist, gave Sam one last hug and handed him over. We had to bolt out of there as fast as we could. I could not handle hearing him screaming for us in the OR and there was nothing we could do.

About an hour and a half later they called us in the waiting room. The PACU nurse said “I have an angry little boy here that wants him mommy.” This was hard to hear over his very horse screaming in the back ground. We ran down the hall to the PACU, to find a half naked screaming and confused little boy on a big adult stretcher, pulling at IV’s and monitors. Keith picked him up just in time for them to say that only one parent could be back there. I didn’t even think about it and told Keith I was not leaving. Poor Keith, he didn’t argue and handed Sam over and went back out to the recovery area, I know that it was one of the hardest things he has ever had to do. After a quick breathing treatment we were able to take him to recovery to see daddy. What a wonderful and sweet husband I have, he loves his kids so much. They came out and told us what they had found, a peanut, yes a freaking peanut. They said he probably coughed while eating it and sucked it down into his right bronchial around Christmas time. Some scar tissue and inflammation formed around it and completely blocked off his right lung. They were able to remove it and clean out the scar tissue without any problems, they even gave us the peanut in a specimen cup. After a few more hours in recovery they agreed that we did not need to stay overnight as planned and sent us home around 1100 pm. Now Sam is doing great. I can’t believe how fast he recovered and was back to running around like a crazy man. I am so grateful to the amazing and wonderful nurses and staff at Primary Children’s. I am so grateful to have a healthy little man again. It is defiantly something that I never want to go through again. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and concern, and a huge thank you to Dallin and Jennifer for helping us with Lily. We could not have gone through this with out you.